"For the freedom of brave and self-sacrificing women!" Socialist education in Northeastern Mexico, 1934-1940

Abstract

Socialist education was a project promoted by Lázaro Cárdenas from the very beginning of his presidency, and it generated deep divisions within Mexican society. With the reform of the educational system in 1934, the goal was for students to acquire rational and scientific knowledge. Particular emphasis was placed on providing secular and free education to rural communities. This article analyzes how women became involved in this educational project in the cities of Saltillo, Monterrey, and Torreón. On the one hand, it highlights the contributions of female teachers and mothers who embraced this new educational model. At the same time, it examines the opposition voiced by journalists and devout women who viewed the content taught in classrooms —such as sex education— with suspicion and regarded it as covert indoctrination.